Today is the last post in the series #30daysofgratitude. My goal 30 days ago was to share the musings of my gratitude journal and the benefits I see from this daily gratitude practice.
I’ve shared and overshared. The benefits of sharing my gratitude in addition to the journal writing are indescribable. It must be something about the double dose of gratitude – maybe it’s the reflecting, the writing and the re-telling. I’m not sure, but when we experience something from all sides, perhaps we can truly embody it.
I compare it to exercising – you can exercise every day, but do you eat unhealthy food? Do you eat late at night? Or do you eat super healthy, but live a sedentary life? I think when we do both, eat our best and exercise, we reap the most benefits.
Same goes for gratitude. By practicing gratitude on my own and then sharing it with you, I was able to gain so much insight into my world, where I need to be more thankful, where I need to just chill out a little bit, and what works best in my life to keep me feeling happy, whole and loving.
While I never set out to create a gratitude movement or force anyone into an ‘attitude of gratitude,’ I am beyond delighted some of you actually told me you began a gratitude journal or even just started counting some blessings every day. That makes me grin! Whatever works to allow us all to feel our best is what’s best.
What’s best for me, today, is to write here, what came up the most in my gratitude journaling this month.
I’m so grateful for the love of Hubs. He’s so good, so generous and makes a mean ass cup of coffee. We’ve been together for 20 years – 1995? Seriously? So blessed.
My gorgeous girl. How I love her so. Her sweet eyes, her fierce determination, her quick wit and the light! The light this girl brings to my life! And her sass. I am grateful for her sass. Most days.
My girl drives and comes home safe every time she goes out.
My Boy. My doll, my buddy, my Guy Smiley. This kid kills me every day with his banter, his sense, his old soul ways. He cracks me up, he warms my heart and gives the best hugs I’ve ever had (next to my Dad.)
So grateful my kids are healthy. So grateful they are kind. So grateful I GET to watch them run and catch and play and laugh and get in trouble and cry and swear and eat too much. So grateful for the bickering, the annoyances, the drama, the bullshit of teenage years. I am grateful they have WONDERFUL friends! So grateful I get to Mom them.
I love my freakin’ neck pillow. EVERY damn night I say ‘Thank you God for this damn neck pillow.’ Who invented this amazing creature comfort? WHO? I love you!
I’m grateful for red wine.
I’m grateful for my sweet mom. I’m grateful we both have found forgiveness. I’m grateful I was born her daughter. I’m grateful she loves me. This woman is wise, she is my teacher. AND God I love her laugh.
I’m grateful for my furry dog. Her quiet calm bring me joy, peace and stillness.
I’m grateful for 90s rap. It’s like this and like that and like this and uh. Let’s be grateful for XM radio too. Yeah. How about some Adele lately? Let’s just be grateful for Spotify all day and all night.
I’m grateful for second chances.
I’m grateful for forgiveness.
I am so grateful for the friends in my life that love me, support me and “root for my rising.” There are a few of you. I adore you. You are my heart.
I am grateful for my Move a Body Friend.
I am so grateful, ever so grateful, to write on this amazing site called ChicagoNow. I am grateful for the other writers here who inspire me, encourage me, read me and for some reason, ‘get’ me. OH GRATEFUL!
And I’m grateful to you, sweet reader(s)! Thanks for coming on this gratitude ride with me. Let’s keep on gratituding, keep on practicing our thinking about and thanking about. There’s no stopping! Let’s write in our journals, on our post-its, or just say thanks out loud in our cars.
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